Dublin Lord Mayor to Attend Shannon Peace Vigil

Shannonwatch are delighted that the Lord Mayor of Dublin Mícheál Mac Donncha will attend their regular monthly peace vigil at Shannon Airport on Sunday June 10th. The peace vigils are part of the ongoing campaign to end the US military use of Shannon Airport that has been ongoing since 2002 despite claims that Ireland is a neutral country.

Since 2002 Shannon Airport has been used by the US military on their way to/from wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Close to 3 million US troops and their weapons have gone through the airport in that time, with over 60,000 transiting through the airport last year. In the 12 months from January to December 2017, 334 applications were made for US troop carriers to land at Shannon and permits granted for a further 451 military aircraft to land at the airport. Hundreds more permits were granted for other US military flights to pass through Irish airspace.

Amnesty International and others have confirmed that Shannon Airport has also operated as a stopover point for CIA rendition planes involved in kidnapping and torture.

Speaking about his attendance at the peace vigil, Dublin Lord Mayor Mícheál Mac Donncha said "I support the opposition to the serious breaches of Irish neutrality taking place at Shannon Airport. This is in line with resolutions passed by Dublin City Council's elected members. We are allowing US military aircraft to transit troops and weapons to warzones where they kill people. The Irish people have never approved of this gross misuse of a civilian airport, and in fact the majority of Irish people want Irish neutrality restored."

"We are also now in the process of committing ourselves to PESCO, a European Army that will involve itself in the missions and crimes of NATO. This too is unacceptable."

Spokesperson for Shannonwatch John Lannon said, "Ireland is complicit in gross violations of human rights, the killing of innocent civilians, and unending cycles of suffering for millions of people. We have been campaigning now for over 15 years to end the US military use of Shannon. Given the many ongoing conflicts in the Middle East in which the US is involved, it is vital that Ireland take a stand against ongoing military interventions that fuel these conflicts".

The peace vigil will take place on the road into the airport as the authorities will not permit peaceful opposition to the military use of the airport at or near the terminal building.